SQ0006 Crash by Dionne

Why the accident occurred?

1. Harsh weather conditions and poor visibility

" At the time, tropical storm Xangsan, which had caused devastation across the Philippines, was approaching Taiwan. Winds of up to 144kph and heavy rain were lashing the airport and causing poor visibility. "

2. Runway under repair was not cordoned off completely

" The disused strip at Taipei had not been completely blocked off because it was frequently used for taxi-ing aircraft... Instead, a barrier of concrete blocks had been erected one thousand metres down the runway at the beginning of the construction zone and marked with a light. "

3. Lack of communication

" Under such conditions, the control tower should have warned the pilots by radio about the closed runway. The 'black box' cockpit recorder indicated that wasn't done with the Singapore Airlines flight. "

4. Lack of ground monitoring

" The airport is not equipped with ground radar so the control tower could not visually check if the plane was on the correct runway... The use of ground monitoring would certainly have ensured the crash in Taiwan would not have occurred. "

5. Profit-driven decisions

" Air safety is being compromised by cost-cutting, economic restructuring... As the latest disaster in Taiwan indicates, when it comes to key issues – to block off a runway, to install ground radar, and bad weather takeoffs and landings – it is profit that very often decides. "

Opinion

I think that the pilots were partially at fault for making the decision to take off even under such harsh weather conditions. The pilots were under pressure from airlines to maintain tight schedules and avoid costly delays, and so decided to take off even with the strong winds and low visibility. However, it is also the fault of the airport authorities for "staying open so the pilot can make their own decision". The airport authority has the benefit of advance radar technology and other instrumentation on which to base a decision, which the pilots do not have. Thus, the airport authority should guide and advise pilots on their decisions, even shutting down the airport if necessary. Therefore, I feel that the pilots were at fault, but the airport authorities also had a major part to play in the cause of the accident, equal to, if not more than the decision that the pilots made.